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I’ve been disappearing into the flat waters of the bay the last couple of evenings. Here’s what I’ve been on: The Stamps Arrow- if you try one of these downwind/point-to-point boards, you’re going to want one.

Paddling flatwater with one of these is a whole new ballgame. Think effortless glide. And ridiculous speed. I’m going to have to get one of these for coastal touring and downwind runs this summer. I could envision whole classes of paddlers touring flatwaters on these, they’re such sweet paddlers.

Stamps built this board to be fast but manageable- I’ve paddled it three times now and haven’t fallen in. Granted, I haven’t gotten her out into chop and swell yet but I think she’s going to be fine, the board actually becomes more stable as it tips to a side. Kind of reminds me of a dory, the lower it sits the more stable it becomes. It’s a beautiful board, if you get a chance get on one of these!

You just never now what’s going to pop up at a beach break. I’d heard rumblings that there was a fun wave draining into the rip at a certain street end. On the hunch I jammed over at noon to find the place just going off.

Dead glass, winding lefthanders, racing into the hole blown out by the rip. One guy way to the south. Three hours later it was still doing it’s magic but I just couldn’t do it anymore- I was beat.

So here’s a few pics of what it looked like- like every surf photographer always says, “These were the ‘tweeners, you should have seen the set waves”. But, seriously…

Check it out:

Now I’ve really messed myself up. I’m starting to get “Baja Dreamy”, all I can think about are the waves that are peeling off right now somewhere down south. Mike Ashley, my brother, put together this little clip of the Baja Paddle/Surf/Kite trip we completed last summer. If you haven’t had the time to go back and read about it, you’ll have to click all the way back to the very first entries of this blog. Or maybe you just want to check out the video and imagine yourself fishing, kiting, surfing and paddling your brains out for two weeks all the way down to Cabo San Lucas. Free me!

Camera Grom Thanks You! For everybody who stuffed a little cash in Grom’s coffee can this morning (and Gabe who dropped a twenty spot!) the video will be up tomorrow. If you don’t know Grom is saving up for a new camera- so it’s going to a good cause, how many kids do you know have the ballzack to save on their own? As for the clips, all I can say is Kiwi and Kraig Surplus exceeded their wave count. And, upon further video review, yes, Kraig- if you weren’t right in the pit I would have been barreled. Foul!

I can’t wait to Spring forward. It means that the warm season is just around the corner. The after work session can be extended and I can start making my summer travel plans. I’m already trying to figure out how I’m going to pull off the paddle surf adventures that are floating around in my mind. Here’s a preview:

1. I want to paddle the East Cape of Baja. Talk about wide open. There are so many little spots to poke around down there. I’m fired up to lay some tracks and document some reliable runs around the tip. Trip Probability: 90%

2. I’m all messed up on the idea of paddling mainland Mexico, specifically a giant left point break, described as Malibu in reverse. The place is fat and long enough to be perfect for a stand up board. Trip Probability: 60%

3. I need to paddle up and around the voodoo ridden Northern Baja region- my gut says no but my board says yes. Trip Probability: 50% (if you drive, I’ll cover tolls and tacos!).

4. Send me to Costa Rica. Will paddle and write for frequent flier miles. Boca Barranca, Pavones and Pan Dulce all need to be poached. Trip Probability: 0%

5. There’s some stretches of coastline right in my backyard that I still haven’t explored and I need to score, mid-week, south swell, point surf this summer. Trip Probability: 100%

6. Ian you invited me up to your zone, that big headland needs to be breeched- let me know!
Trip Probablility: 70%

Get out and get some- it’s out there!

Brewer, over at the SB paddle blog has a little piece about finally having to tell some local paddlers to mind their manners in the surf. I’ve been hearing some buzzing about tension in the water around our parts- so I thought I’d take an opportunity to put my feelings out there. Here’s a little piece from an upcoming project I’m working on. You’ll see it in June in its complete form- but for now, this piece seemed appropriate:

It’s a sad reality that all is not rainbows and unicorns in the surfing family. As stand up paddle surfing becomes more and more popular, the prone surfing population has become increasingly vocal about their disdain for us, their upright brothers. The days of open fascination have begun to give way to open confrontation or at the very least the insidious “stink eye”. And, frequently, they’ve got a point- some of us have been pigs.

The increased mobility and ease of wave catching can transform even the mellowest surfer into a wave-eating beast. I’ve watched two stand up paddlers take over a spot, endlessly looping from peak to channel, plundering every wave that even hinted at breaking and generally pissing off everybody in the lineup. Including me, a fellow stand up surfer! Unfortunately, the victims of this bad behavior transfer their ire onto the entire SUP community and the bad blood spreads from break to break.

There is good news though. There are stand up paddlers who have what I call “special immunity”, these are the guys who through their actions and force of personality are able to stand up surf almost anywhere. These surfers practice, without even knowing it, a code of surfing ethics that is more than a set of rules. It’s a mindset, a way of being.

Here are my suggestions to help build harmony in the line up. Practice these and develop your own special immunity.

1. Paddle through not out: It’s much more difficult to get upset at a moving target. Look at surf spots as targets of opportunity and hit them as you’re moving through. Don’t pull up in the parking lot, eyeball the main event peak and paddle straight out to it. Remember, you’re just playing through, so move along.

2. Charity: Give away a lot of waves. Sit down on your board and purposefully take yourself out of the action. You don’t need to make a big show of it, in fact the quieter you are, the more “in the know” you seem, the more of an impact this action will have.

3. Competence: Know your limits. If you are a beginner you should surf the worse, most abandoned, empty waves in your county. If you can’t control yourself or your board, you’ve got no reason to be near others. Surfers respect competence, ride the wave cleanly, pull out and finish the wave correctly. These little things, in the eyes of the knowledgeable, tell them all they need to know about you and how you look at surfing.

4. Never call anybody off of a wave: Vocalizing never helps, it only labels you as the loudmouth. And a stand up loud mouth is the worst kind of loudmouth. Instead, encourage prone surfers to take off in front of you. Trust me, you’ll get plenty more.

5. Fill the holes: As you paddle through, look for surfer-voids. Now fill them. Easy as that, bounce from hole to hole and you’ll never have a problem.

These are the guidelines I’ve tried to live by in my paddling life; they’ve served me well. Like all guidelines they are flexible, use good judgment, keep your cool and if all else fails…. paddle away. Good luck and happy surfing!

Sometimes you gotta bend some rules to get things done. I’m not going into it here but the deed is done. You’ll be hearing about the new ride I grabbed a hold of soon… If you were there, enjoy.

Oh man, I got a peek at something that looks really fun. Kelly Kraus at Emerald City surf shop in Coronado had a 14′ C4 Vortice down at the beach this morning. That thing looks so sweet! Talk about purpose built, it’s more hull than paddle board. Kelly says it’s ridiculously fast- I’m going to jump on it sometime this week and I’ll post a full report. You’re going to be seeing a lot more of these downwind boards in the water this summer. I know I want one and I haven’t even tried the thing yet! Check Back.

The surf in our parts has really been fun lately. I’ve hit the last two days at different spots and had really great days. It’s been about head high on the set waves but clean and lined up. We’re seeing a building south swell so it’s time to start putting the thinking caps on and figuring out where it’s going to work best. Stoked.

Photos Top and Bottom: A couple of snapshots of a couple of spots a couple of days ago.

If you’ve been surfing for awhile you know who Larry Bertlemann is.

If you drag your paddle to the inside of a front side cutback, across your body to the heelside on the round-o you’re executing a Bertlemann style hand drag. The only difference is he dragged a hand, you’re dragging your paddle.

The guy was a 70′s style master, he even influence the nascent sport of street skating. Go rent Dogtown and Z-boys and you’ll see Jay Adams ripping “Bert’ reverts” in pools and banks all over Venice and Santa Monica.

So I don’t know why but I was perusing YouTube and I found a trade show interview with him.

The guy is well spoken and he’s got something to say. Good stuff. Check it out:

Wise words, they apply to more than just surfing. For me they justify one other important item: I push a shopping cart… so what? It’s my own circle.